More than a city, Chennai is a potpourri of impressions: a fistful of colour, a whiff of jasmine, the rustling of silk. It brings to mind the subtle, intricate variations of classical music, the evocative grace of Bharatanatyam and a spontaneity of bronzed Dravidian faces. Stray images chase one another: bold colour drawn into the pleats of the Kancheepuram sari; a neat, swaying, ebony plait crowned with a spray of flowers; complicated and exuberant sculpture lacing temple walls. Chennai is the first city of the sough and a gateway to the sunny temple towns of southern India.

Four centuries ago, Chennai was still Madrasapatnam, an anonymous fishing village dotting the Coromandel Coast. Never a pivot of any mighty local kingdom, it was part of a region that was ruled by the greatest dynasties of the south: the Cholas and the Pallavas. Chennai splendid heritage of temples, its pristine Hindu culture which has found such rich expression in fine arts and crafts all owed to these great civilization. Modern Chennai bears its ancient lineage with pride, poise and dignity.

Over this bed rock of a strong cultural and spiritual identity. Chennai unique personality as a flourishing commercial city which began when the British arrived, has been superimposed on the surrounding region, now called the state of Tamil Nadu. Madrasapatnam provided the first firm foothold for a burgeoning alien empire, a launching pad for the Englishmen’s struggle for India. The small fishing hamlet of Madrasapatnam was chosen as a settlement primarily because of easy availability of cheap long cloth. Here, the English founded the first English school and India’s first Municipal Corporation and many other significant firsts including the Indian Army.

By 1680, the English had consecrated St. Mary’s Church- the first English church in India. Around this complex and at the northern end of Marina beach, grew fort St. George, a shelter that world survive for 300 years. Hear, Robert Clive’s marriage to Margaret Maskalyne was celebrated with great festivity in 1753. The only settlements that developed around the forest were the local colonies of Madrasapatnam and Chennapatnam, and it was these that burst their cordons to become a large and teeming township, the city of south Chennai.

Chennai is a broad open city, and the longest thoroughfare in the city. Anna Salai, formerly the Mount Road, is its busy commercial center. Fort St. George, built by the British East India Company in 1640, was a stronghold of British power in the region and has changed hands between the British and French many a time. Robert Clive, the English clerk who manipulated to the carve out a niche for the Empire, once worked in this building. The fort now houses government offices. St Mary’s Church within the fort is believed to be the oldest Anglican Church in the east. It was consecrated in 1680. American visitors would be particularly interested to know the Elihu Yale, who later endowed the Yale Univeresity in the U.S.A., was married in the church. Yale worked as a lerk with the British East India Company and rose to be the governor of Chennai. The Fort Museum, a treasure house of history, is worth a visit for its collection of armour, costumers, coins and medal, of the East India Company in that region.

The Gandhi Mandapam, 7.2 km from the center of the city, organizes prayer meetings regularly. The high court buildings put up in 1861 are of interest for their Indo-Saracenic architecture. The Kapaleewarar Temple, at Mylapore, is an ancient Shiva temple built in typical Dravidian style. The parthasarathy Temple at Triplicane, is dedicated to Lord Krishna as royal charioteer of Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers in the Mahabharata war. The temple was built by a Pallava king in the 8^th century and was subsequently renovated many times by a succession of Vijayanagar kings. The Anna’s Square, at the northern end of the Marina Beach, is the memorial to a beloved leader of the state.

The San Thoms Basilica, is named after St Thomas the Apostle who was buried there. St. Thomas came to the shores barely a few years after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in 52 A.D. The present cathedral building was consecrated in 1896 at the place where an old chapel existed. The Church of the Madonna of the Mount, on a hill top, is famous for its bleeding cross which said to bleed on December 18^th every year, the day St Thomas died. There is a painting of the Madonna here, which is said to have been painted by St. Luke, one of the twelve Apostles.

The Marina Beach, 3.2 km long, is spell binding and is the second longest beach in the world. There is an aquarium and a light house nearby besides the government museum, the National Art Gallery, the College of Arts and Crafts, one can also visit the Snake Park at Guindy and the Theosophical Society established by Dr. Annie Basant. The library of the society has many ancient manuscripts.